Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie

published	March 24th 2008 by W. W. Norton
binding	Hardcover
isbn	0393065715 (isbn13: 9780393065718)
ebook
pages	256
description	One young woman's voice—intense and poetic—grapples with universal ideas as it chronicles a personal journey cut short. How ...more [close] One young woman's voice—intense and poetic—grapples with universal ideas as it chronicles a personal journey cut short. How do we find our way in the world? How do our actions affect others? What do we owe the rest of humanity? These are the timeless questions so eloquently posed by Rachel Corrie, a young American activist killed on March 16, 2003, as she tried to block the demolition of a Palestinian family's home in the Gaza Strip. She was twenty-three years old. Let Me Stand Alone reveals Corrie's striking gifts as a poet and writer while telling her story in her own words, from her earliest reflections to her final e-mails. Her writing brings to life all that it means to come of age—a dawning sense of self, a thirst for one's own ideals, and an evolving connection to others, near and far. Corrie writes about the looming issues of her time as well as the ordinary angst of an American teen, all with breathtaking passion, compassion, insight, and humor. Her writing reverberates with conviction and echoes her long-held belief in the oneness of humanity: "We have got to understand that they dream our dreams, and we dream theirs." 35 illustrations. [close]
date added	06-26-07 edit book

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Martin rated it:

08/18/08

Read in August, 2008

For those who are not familiar with the backstory...Rachel Corrie was a young activist from Olympia, WA who went to Palestine with the ISM (International Solidarity Movement) to help Palestinians defend their homes from demolition by the occupying Israeli Army in Rafah. ISM volunteers attempted to provide human shields against Israeli tanks and bulldozers. Corrie was killed when a bulldozer ran over her (twice!) as she attempted to stop the destruction of a Palestinian home. The story got lim...more For those who are not familiar with the backstory...Rachel Corrie was a young activist from Olympia, WA who went to Palestine with the ISM (International Solidarity Movement) to help Palestinians defend their homes from demolition by the occupying Israeli Army in Rafah. ISM volunteers attempted to provide human shields against Israeli tanks and bulldozers. Corrie was killed when a bulldozer ran over her (twice!) as she attempted to stop the destruction of a Palestinian home. The story got limited coverage in major U.S. media, who were "distracted" while providing jingoistic coverage of the just launched war in Iraq. Her death was a tragedy, within an incredibly tragic situation in Palestine, a situation that the U.S. government is undeniably complicit in, but that does not seem to warrant headlines in the U.S. media (oh, we will report the hell out of a Palestinian suicide bomber in Tel Aviv, but you will rarely hear about the acts of genocide committed by the Israeli military and security forces in the occupied territories).

Ok. Enough of the geo-political diatribe...as far as this book goes...I had huge hopes for it, but overall it was hit and miss at best. Obviously, Corrie was not a polished writer, though her insights, style and candor are often refreshing. And of course I doubt she ever intended the world at large to ever see a lot of this (I would cringe to think that my parents would publish my teenage journals after my death). The book is obviously an attempt to identify Rachel Corrie as a martyr, and to keep her memory alive for those who have only come to know her through her death. I understand that. I just have conflicting emotions about it.

The writing starts to get interesting as Rachel reaches high school and college and becomes more engaged and "polished" as a writer. She begins to find her voice, and (as with most/some people of that age) begins to become more self aware, and more inquisitive about the ways of the world and her place in it. These passages can be interesting, even if they are a bit uncomfortable as they offer a voyeuristic view into a life being formed. It's obvious that Corrie loved to write, and aspired to be a "writer", and these rough sketches do show promise. But there's also a lot of fluff, and scribblings that read like a grocery list without context.

Early on the book is full of pre-adolescent poetry and wide eyed wonder...charming in it's way...but perhaps a bit more than I could stomach at times.

Overall, I think this book would have been more interesting and perhaps more effective if it was composed in a way as to provide more context to the writings included. Perhaps some sort of journalistic biography included with Corrie's personal writings? Who knows? But at it's core this book underlines the tragedy of cutting short a life full of such promise, passion and compassion, and if all this accomplishes is to make the reader consider that loss more closely, and the countless others that go unnoticed everyday, then the effort is/was well worth it.

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Let Me Stand Alone: The Journals of Rachel Corrie

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